Opening a new hotel is no small task but opening an upscale hotel during the recession of 2008 created a number of significant challenges for the managers at Griffin Stafford. The hotel benefitted from an affiliation with one of the top lodging brands; however, business and leisure demand for hotel rooms was generally weak. Griffin Stafford’s strong sales and marketing efforts along with careful expense management helped this hotel excel against its competition during a very difficult period.
During its first full calendar year of operation, the hotel generated almost 65% more in sales revenue per guest room than its combined set of six hotel competitors. The following year, the hotel continued its dominating performance by generating 78% more in revenue per guest room.
The hotel’s exceptional performance resulted in average annual cash-on-cash distributions to the investors during the first three calendar years (2009, 2010 and 2011) of 14.3%.
